Waste heat power apparatus for internal combustion engines



5e 27, 19330 R. H. coBB I 1,915,594

WASTE HEAT POWER APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Feb. 1 1931.

Z I /6-1 4 1 //a I T';: I T

I N VEN TOR.

Richard H. Cobb BY MCW ATTORNEY.

" hes heretofore been operstecl by Patented June 27, 1933 ersn'r oFFics EIGEFARD H. CQBB, 0E GLEVELAKD, OHIO WASTE HEAT POWEE APEARATU$ FOE. IR'EEWAL CQEBUSTION ENG 1" Application filed February 14, will. Serial No. 515,664.

This invention relates to apparatus for utilizing the Waste'lieet of internal combustion engines and particularly apparatus for converting the Waste bent into power.

lit is one of the objects of this invention to provide an epparntus for converting into power Weste best of on intern-(i1 combustion engine end for applying it to the operation of power consuming auxiliary apparatus of the engine in an improved manner.

Another object is to provide in association with an internal combustion engine, o. source v of power energized from waste heat of the engine and adapted to operate auxiliary op:

peretns of the engine Which hes heretofore been operated by power subtracted from the power developed by the engine.

Another object is to provide an improveil apparatus for utilising waste heat of en internel combustion engine in e manner to increase the proportion of net energy developexi by the engine anti available for useful Work Another object is to provuie on improved cooling system for internal combustion engines.

Another object is to provide an improvefil cooling system for internal combustion engines operable variably in accordance with temperature changes of the engine in on improved manner.

Another ob'ect is to provide for association with internal combustion engines, a-

steam power plant energized tram waste heat or" the engine and edeptecl to operate on engine cooling system in an improvedi main ner. 7

Another object is to provide such a steam power plant adapted to operate a. cooling system for the internel combustion engine variably in proportion to the temperature steeni power plant energizes. from waste heat of the engine, a steam boiler for-the steam plant and apparatus for supplying water to the boiler to maintain the some at a precietermined level therein, from. the Water cooling circulating system of the internal combustion engine in on improved manner."

@tlier objects will be epporent to those skillegi in the ert to which my invention eppertains.

liiy invention is fully disclosed in the folso lowing description taken in connection with the eccoinpenying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is e side elevetionel, pertly cross sectional View of on internal combustion engine, end with en embooiment of my inventime associated therewith;

Fig. 2 is e cross-sectional view to en en lergeci scele taken epproxiinetely from the plane 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view to en enlerged scale token approximately from the plene 3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is e cross-sectional view to en enlergedl scale of en edj usteble flow restricting device which i may employ in the embodiment of my invention of Fig. 1;

'Fig. 5 is e fragmentary view similar to Fig. l with ports omitted for simplicity end illustrating e modification oi? my invention.

Rei'erring to the drewingfll heve shown so generelly at 1 en internal combustion engine,

which will be recognized by those skillecl in the art to be generally of the motor vehicle type.

p The engine 1 is provided with the usual water jacket not shown for cooling purposes but which communicates with e fiiscliorge conduit 2, e radiator 3, en e supply confiuit" ii in which, as at 5, is ciisposecl e circulating pump Q0 The pump 5 preferebly forms one part of i e unitery mechanism, other parts to be more fully described being esteem-operable engins 6, on electric current generator '2", oil preferably driven in unison, lmvingecom inon interconnecting power shaft 8 on e por-= tion of which is e pulley 9 corinecteci by s. be t it to e. pulley ii for operatively one: ing e cooling ten 12 for the usual purposes,

The pump 5 engine 6 generator 2' my all be supported on the frame of the engine 1 in any suitable manner not shown, and the exact construction of these units and the mounting therefor forms no essential part of my invention. The electric generator 7, for supplying current to the battery of the vehicle or to a battery of the engine i nition 3 stem, may be employed or not as esired, that is to say, it may be driven independently of the steam engine 6, but preferably the pump 5' and the fan 12 are adapted to be driven by the steam engine 6.

To supply steam for the engine 6 I provide a boiler showngenerally at 13. In the preferred form of my invention, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the boiler is formed integrally with the exhaust manifold 14 of the engine in order that heat from the exhaust gases in the manifold may be more readily conducted to water, indicated at 15, in the boiler 13. Steam is conducted from an upper POItEOIl of the boiler by a steam pipe 16 to the steam engine 6, and after passing therethrough is conducted by a pipe 17 into the radiator 3 where it may be condensed by contact with water in the radiator.

Water is supplied to the boiler through a suppl conduit 18 forming a branch from the con uit 4 on the high pressure side of the pump 5. Admission of water from the con- -duit l8 to the boiler is controlled by a valve comprising a valve element 19 and a valve seat 20 in the boiler, the valve element 19 being adapted to be moved from closed to open mition by movement transmitted thereto rom a float 21 in the boiler, the float being adapted to rock a shaft 22 supported in suitable hearings in the boiler and the shaft 22 being connected by an arm 23, and a link or links 24 to a, stem 25 of the valve element 19 rec'iprocable in a supporting bearetween the conduit 18 and the water jacket of the engine, is disposed a device 27, shown separately in Fig. 4, comprising a lhousing 28 in the line of the conduit 4, the housing having therein a port 29 associated "with which is a disc 30 provided with a stem 31 screw-threaded as at 32 in the housing 28 and provided with a screwdriver slot 33. The

threads as at 32 are sealed by a cap 34 screwed onto the housing 28 as at 35.

By removing the cap. 34, the disc 30 may be adjusted toward and from the port 29 to adjust efiective fluid flow area of the port.

In practice, the area of the port 29 is adjusted so that a relatively high fluid pressurecreated by the pump 5 and sufficient to force water through the branch conduit18 into the boiler 13 against the counter-pressure of steam therein, will be reduced at the port 29 to a value suitable for circulating water through the cooling system of 'the engine above described. r

In operation of my invention as thus doamount of water 15 is in the boiler and that the engine is cool. Upon starting the engine,

the fan 12 and the pump 5 will not operate as is customary in prior practice, but will remain stationary. Operation of the engine warms it up and the heat of the exhaust gases in the manifold 14 warms up water 15 in the boiler and finally generates steam therefrom. By the time the engine has reached the maximum desirable temperature thereof, the steam pressure generated will be suliicient to operate the steam engine 6. This result can be attained, for agiven steam engine 6, by suitably adjusting the amount of water in the boiler and suitably providing a sufiicient area of exposureof the water to the heat of the exhaust gases from the engine.

As soon as the steam engine 6 begins to' the engine, and also rotates the fan 12 ef-- fecting a cooling operation on the engine. If the engine should tend to heat up still hotter, it will generate a greater steam pressure in the boiler and operate the engine 6 at a faster rate, thus driving the pump 5 faster and the fan 12 faster and effecting a greater cooling action on the engine. Thus any tendency of the engine to get hotter is counteracted by a corresponding greater activity of the cooling system and thus the engine is maintained at not greater than a preselected temperature.

Obviously, if the engine were hot or warm when it was started up, the cooling system would very quickly come into action because of the generation of steam after a very short interval.

The generation of steam from the water in the boiler lowers the level of the water and causes the float 21 to descend and open the valve 19-20. The pressure supplied by the conduit 18 may at all times be greater than the steam pressure in the boiler, being adjustable by the device 27, and the valve may be held closed, against the difference of pressure, by the leverage effected by the float 21. It will be understood that for an increase of steam pressure there is correspondingly an increase of fluid pressure in the conduit 18 due to the greater rate at pump structure or may be separate pumping units driven by the steam engine 6. The pump 40 is designed to generate a fluid pressure suitable to pump water through the engine cooling system at the desired rate. The

pump 41 is designed to produce a higher fluid pressure and has a supply conduit 42 leading directly to-the boiler and a by-pass described, as well as the generator I -when the float is raised and to be closed when the float is depressed.

I11 the operation of the form of my invention of Fig. 5, steam from the boiler 13 operates the steam engine 6 as in the form of Fig. 1 and operates both pumps 40 and 41, the pump 40 supplying cooling water to the engine circulating system and the pump 41 being adapted to supply water to the boiler when needed. .lVhen the water in the boiler has fallen to a predetermined level and closes the valve 44, the pump 41 will force water through the conduit 42 into the boiler 13 against the steam pressure therein. When the water level in the boiler has risen to the desired value, it will open the valve 44 whereupon the conduit 43 becomes a by-pass around the pump 41 and the water pumped by the pump 41 circulates in a local circuit including the pump itself, the conduit 42, the boiler 13 and the conduit 43. When the water in the boiler has been consumed in the form of steam sutiiciently to lower the level, the valve 44 will be closed again.

in some instances, the steam pressure in the boiler may, upon opening the valve 44, force water out of the boiler downwardly through the conduit 43 and into the circulating sysiem, but this will immediately cftcct a lowering of the water level in the boiler and a closing of the valve.

It will be observed, that the energy rc-. quircd to operate the cooling system above when the same is employed in connection with the steam engine, is not derived from the power developed by the internal combustion cngine, that is to say, from its power delivering shaft as in prior practice, but is derived from the heat of the engine exhaust which would otherwise be wasted. Thus all of the energy developed by the engine at its crank shaft. may be applied to propel the vehicle.

As is well known, the power necessary, in the ordinary internal combustion engine, to operate the fan and to operate the generator audwater circulating ump is a considerable portion of the entire power developed by the engine.

l urthermore, besides saving power of the internal combustion engine,*my i wention provides a cooling system which is inherently self-regulating, that to say, cfiecis a greater cooling action in response to an increase of temperature of the engine above a.

predetermined value, any tendency of the engine to get hotter being met by an inspirit of the invention creased activity on the {part of the cooling system, this regulating unction flowing inherently from the employment of a steam, engine driven by, steam generated by the waste heat from the engine.

My invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown anddescribed. Many changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the or sacrificing its advantages.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for utilizing the waste heat from an internal combustion engine, a boiler, adapted to be heated by the exhaust gases from the engine, a steam engine adapted to be driven by steam enerated in the boiler, and a water circulating pump driven by the steam engine and connected to the cooling water circulating system of the engine for circulating water therethrough, the steam engine being adapted to increase the. rate of water circulation by the pump in response to an increase of steam pressure resulting from an increase of engine ternperature.

2. In an apparatus for utilizing the waste heat from an internal combustion engine, a boiler, adapted to be heated by the exhaust gases from the en ine, a steam engine adapt- 3. In an apparatus forutilizing the waste heat from an internal combustion engine, a boiler, adapted to be heated by the exhaust gases from the engine, a steam engine ada ted to be driven by steam generated in t e boiler, a water circulating pump driven b the steam engine and connected to the coo ing water circulating system of the engine for circulating water therethrough, the steam engine being adapted to increase the rate of water circulation by the pump in response, to an increase of steam pressure resulting from an increase of engine temperature, and an exhaust from the steam engine into the water circulating system.

4. In an apparatus for utilizing the waste heat from an internal combustion engine, a boiler, adapted to be heated by the exhaust o 1 I gases from the engine, a steam engine adaptengine being adapted to increase the rate of 5. In an apparatus for utilizing *the waste.

heatfrom an internal combustion engine, a boiler, adapted to be heated by the exhaust gases from the engine, a steam engine adapted to be driven by steam generated in the boiler, a water circulating pump driven by the steam engine and connected to the cooling water circulating system of the engine for circulating water therethrough, the steam engine being adapted to increase the rate of water circulation by the pump in response to an increase of steam pressure resulting from an increase of engine temperature, a water supply conduit from the high pressure side of the pump to the boiler, and a valve controlling flow through the supply conduit operated by a float in the boiler to maintain a substantially level of water in the boiler.

6. In an apparatus for utilizing the waste heat from an internal combustion engine, a boiler, adapted to be heated by exhaust gases from the engine, a steam engine adapted to be driven by steam generated in the boiler, 21 water circulating pump driven by the steam engine, a cooling water supply conduit from the pump to the circulating system of the engine, a restriction in the supply conduit, and a boiler conduit between the boiler and a point in the supply conduit between the high pressure side of the pump and the restriction.

7. In an apparatus for utilizing the waste heat from an internal combustion engine, a boiler, adapted to be heated by exhaust gases from the engine, a steam engine adapted to be driven by steam generated in the boiler, a pumping device driven by the steam engine and comprising a portion connected to the cooling water circulating system of the engine for circulating Water therethrough,

' the steam engine being adapted to increase the rate of Water circulation by the pump in response to an increase of steam pressure resulting from an increase of engine temperature, and a portion connected to the cool ing water system and adapted to draw water therefrom and pump it into the boiler.

8. In an apparatus for utilizing the waste heat from an internal combustion engine, a boiler, adapted to be heated by exhaust gases from the engine, a steam engine adapted to be driven by steam generated in the boiler, a pumping device driven by the steam engine and comprising a portion connected to the cooling Water circulating system of the engine for circulating water therethrough, the steam engine-being adapted to increase the rate of water circulation by the pump in response to an increase of steam pressure resulting from an increase of engine temperature, and a portion connected to the cooling water system adapted to draw water therefrom and to pump through a boiler conduit into the boiler, and a valve controlling flow through the boiler conduit operated by a float in the boiler to substantially maintain a level of water in the boiler.

9. The method of cooling an internalccombustion engine which includes first generating steam by the waste heat of the engine exhaust. driving a steam engine with the steam thus generated, driving a water circulating pump connected to the cooling system of the engine by means of the steam engine, and driving a cooling fan by the steam cnglue and causing the steam engine to operate taster upon the generation of an increase of steam pressure in the boiler iucorrespondence with an increase of engine temperature.

10. The method of cooling an internal combustion engine which includes driving the water circulating pump of the engine by an auxiliary source of power operable to develope driving power at a variable rate in correspondence with variations of engine temperature.

11. in an apparatus for cooling an internal combustion engine, a water circulating system therefor, :1 pump for circulating water through the system and an auxiliary source of power for driving the pump, the auxiliary power source being of the tl'iermallv operable type and operable at varying power deliver- J ing rates in correspondence with variations of engine temperature.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aliis: my signature this llth day of February. 19:11. RICHARD H. CORE. 

